Speaker calls for Charleston County School Board member’s resignation over comments seen as threatening, transphobic

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – A speaker called for a public apology and the resignation of a Charleston County School Board member on Monday night over comments he allegedly made that were seen as transphobic and threatened the life of a teacher.

The speaker stated that they witnessed the comments made by Ed Kelley during a Charleston County Chapter Moms for Liberty meeting held on March 16 in Mount Pleasant.

“This board member said, ‘I would never say anything that I wouldn’t be okay saying to the public,’ so I’m doing exactly that,” the speaker announced before the school board.

The speaker then reflected on a story that Kelley allegedly told where a parent said that his second-grade student came home in tears asking if she was going to turn into a boy.

“When the father asked his daughter why she said that the second grader explained her teacher said that they were going to be a man now and that the student should call the teacher mister instead of miss,” the speaker recalled.

Kelley, the speaker alleged, applauded the parent for coming to speak to him and then stated that if his child said this, the board member would have shown up at the teacher’s house with a gun.

“The board member then recalled how he threatened to immediately fire the superintendent if the teacher came into school the following Monday. He then boasted that this trans teacher had to be put on unpaid administrative leave.”

An audible gasp could be heard from several people who were attending Monday night’s meeting and reacting to the story.

“This board member knowingly shared confidential personal information about an ongoing personnel issue and essentially threatened to threaten a teacher with a gun and unjustifiably threatened the superintendent’s job because of his bigoted and transphobic views,” the speaker said.

The speaker then called for a public apology and resignation of Kelley, saying he was not fit for the role.

As the speaker left the podium, the audience erupted in applause supporting the speaker’s call for action.

Kelley did not comment on the speaker’s allegations during Monday night’s meeting, which lasted until almost midnight.

Several others also spoke on the subject during the meeting.

Andy Pruitt, a spokesman for the Charleston County School Board, told News 2 that the board discussed the issue during executive session Monday night.

The school board is considering a policy revision that would ban educators from talking with students about sexual orientation and gender. It was previously discussed during a March 13 Committee of the Whole meeting.

News 2 has reached out to Kelley for comment. We are waiting to hear back.